Kehoe & Gudman take the oath of office

To all COLA LO Members & Friends,

Mike Kehoe & Jeff Gudman will be sworn in as City Councilors on Tuesday January 4, 2011 at the City Council Chambers beginning at 6:30pm. The public is invited to the event.    

Please notify friends and neighbors so they may attend the ceremony and reception and support the new councilors in 2011.

Jack Bog's Blog exposes "the Agenda" of LO Foothills-Streetcar & Redevelopment with experience from Portlanders

To All COLA LO Members,

Jack Bogs Blog summarized many of the issues and the agenda behind the drive toward foothills development inside Lake Oswego and the current administration. Its a piece entitled "condos needed to save Lake Oswego" and worthy of a review by the community. Several members of the public further enlighten with their comments on what is already known about these types of projects from the experience in Portland.

Here is the link:
http://bojack.org/2010/12/condos_will_save_lake_oswego.html

Please inform all contacts and COLA LO supporters.

Councilor Hennagin drops a bombshell as he leaves the City Council

To all COLA LO members,

If you have not had a chance please read Councilor Hennagin's guest opinion in the LO review this week.   Its located at http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=129252144603475500

In it Councilor Hennagin drops the bombshell that the city will not be able to afford its existing staff without higher density redevelopment. Many citizens have been asking questions about the fiscal responsibility of council decisions. On his way out the door, after losing the election, Hennagin clearly states there is a problem. The article says:


"Another reader opposed the streetcar because he does not want to see Foothills developed. Lake Oswego currently spends $40 million per year to fund baseline operations to which our residents have become accustomed. It is projected that the cost of these services and programs will increase to $48 million by 2016. In the absence of either new development or substantial annexations of property in order to increase property tax revenue the burden of paying for these baseline operations will have to be allocated as additional property taxes to our current residents or else services and programs will have to be drastically reduced far below a level that will be acceptable to our citizens. I submit that development of Foothills is in the long-term financial interest of all of our residents."

Please inform all members and contacts......

COLA -LO introduces a new poll on the 2011 City Council

To all COLA LO Members,

We introduced a new poll today. The poll asks members and contacts about the focus of the 2011 council.    Specifically which areas do you believe should be the focus of the new council? Many members have questioned the direction of the previous council so we introduced the new poll for clarification.

Please notify all members and contacts and ask them to participate in the poll over the next month.

Lake Oswego City Council approves Sensitive Lands Ordinance despite overwhelming testimony against the proposed program

TO ALL COLA LO MEMBERS

The LO city Council last night passed its sensitive lands ordinance in a vote of 6-1 despite overwhelming opposition in testimony. More than one hundred citizens packed the city council chamber with many standing in the hall or against the walls to show opposition to the ordinance which severely restricts citizen property rights on upland properties but exempts the lake (and does not affect any City Council members or City Staff).   

Testimony was almost universally against the ordinance - excluding three non residents likely brought in to testify for the proposed rules – and a single LO citizen. The council chose not to listen to the testimony but pass the new program rules to meet the artificial schedule imposed by METRO (which could be modified).  

Councilors Tierney, Jordan, Vizzini, Hennagin, Moncrief, and Mayor Hoffman, all voted for the property rights restrictions, while councilor Olson voted against it. This is a lame duck session of the council where councilor Hennagin was soundly defeated and councilor Vizzini’s temporary position was filled in the November election. The Council chose to vote on the measure because the two newly elected councilors would not support it when sworn in on January 4^th.   

Councilors Moncrieff, Tierney, and Olson will be up for reelection in 2012 as will Mayor Hoffman. COLA LO has documented their respective votes on the ordinance, and their actions leading up to the vote.  

The actual council session and vote can be observed online at:

http://www.tvctv.org/government-programming/government-meetings/lake-oswego

Lake Oswego streetcar project Open House 12/16

To All COLA LO Members,

The proposed Lake Oswego Streetcar Project has entered a phase where it is critically important that the public be heard. The DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Study) is available, both online at www.oregonmetro.gov/lakeoswego, and at the library. The public comment period runs from now until January 31st and there are a number of ways to comment. 

This Thursday, December 16th, there is an Open House being held at the Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 State Street from 4 until 7 pm. Comment cards will be available there, as well as Tri-Met and Metro staff associated with the Project. You can also comment online at www.oregonmetro.gov/lakeoswego, e-mail your comments to trans@oregonmetro.gov, or send written comments to Lake Oswego to Portland Transit Project, 600 NE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97232. 

The Streetcar is potentially very costly, with estimates now running to $458 million just in capital costs, and all current information about the funding sources is speculative, including the potential burden on Lake Oswego and its taxpayers.  

COLA - LO Board Members Testify to the City Council at Sensitive Lands Hearing

To all COLA LO members,

Board Members Chris Foster and Dave Luck testified last night at the city council hearing on the proposed sensitive lands ordinance.    Chris Foster testified on the requirements of leadership and how they apply to the ordinance under consideration by the council.  Dave Luck testified regarding the history of the ordinance and the absence of key elements that would be required in justifying such a restriction on the private property rights of Lake Oswego residents.  

Over one hundred citizens attended the session. In a show of hands only two people supported the ordinance and both were not LO residents.   The session can be viewed online in a few days at:

http://www.tvctv.org/government-programming/government-meetings/lake-oswego

Please notify all members and contacts.  

Mary Olson LO City Councilor against Clackamas County tax on LO residents

To all Members,

Councilor Mary Olson clearly identifies the facts of the LO City Council.
here is a reprint:

December 8, 2010

To: Clackamas County Board of Commissioners

From: Mary Olson, Councilor, City of Lake Oswego

Testimony against increasing the vehicle registration fee without a vote of the people

The purpose of my testimony is to clarify previous testimony by Councilor Donna Jordan at your public hearing two weeks ago on Nov. 24, 2010. As background, two days before Thanksgiving (the day before your public hearing) Lake Oswego Mayor Jack Hoffman called Councilor Jordan from China to ask her to take a poll of the council on supporting the Vehicle Registration fee increase, and then testify at your hearing. We have never discussed this as a Council and have never had a vote on supporting the fee.

When Councilor Jordan called me, I expressed reservations about this fee being a foot in the door to future fee increases to be used for other projects. Because I fear a disaster occurring on the Sellwood Bridge, due to the negligence of the responsible jurisdictions, I said I could support it if it were to have sunset clause, and never be increased, and only be used for the Sellwood Bridge project. Councilor Jordan assured me that she would express my caveats to you in her testimony, but I don’t think she did.

However, in thinking about this proposed fee increase further, and researching it more thoroughly, I have come to the conclusion that it is not appropriate for the following reasons:

1. It is a dangerous precedent to start cross-jurisdictional funding of projects. This is a slippery slope, and where would it stop? Will we be asked to pay for the St. John’s Bridge repairs in the future? Do people from Portland or Mult. Co. pay for the Canby Ferry? Of course not. The Sellwood Bridge is the responsibility of Multnomah County. Period. The talk about 70% of the trips being from or to Clackamas Co. is a red herring. You could use arguments like that all over the Metro region to justify anything.

2. This should be put out for a vote of the people. Just because former speaker Dave Hunt got legislation passed that allows this county to circumvent a vote on Vehicle Reg. fee increases, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a vote. If this is a priority for our county’s citizens, let them vote.

3. This is not about the Sellwood Bridge. This is about a new revenue stream for Clackamas County by means of what is essentially a new tax without a vote. There is a plan formulated by Chair Peterson and the cities in Clackamas Co. to further increase this fee in three years and split it up on projects between the county and cities.

4. The Sellwood Bridge “problem” exists because of a lack of priority-setting by the responsible agencies. It is not because there is not enough money, it is because the money is being spent on other things. We are building bridges for light rail and streetcar projects while the Sellwood crumbles.

For these reasons I cannot support this proposed increase to the Vehicle Registration Fee. Thank you for letting me provide input.

Clackamas County approves tax on LO residents despite voter testimony

The Clackamas County Commissioners approved a $5 fee (Tax) on auto registrations to pay for a Multnomah County bridge (Sellwood), despite overwhelming testimony from citizens against the fee. 

The fee is unique and a new method for financing out of county projects despite voter discontent.  

At least two LO city councilors testified at the county hearings, Donna Jordan and Mary Olson.

http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/news/story_2nd.php?story_id=129192954004407100


Please notify all members and contacts.

Several COLA - LO Board members submit guest opinions to Lake Oswego Review

To all COLA LO Members,

Several Board Members submitted "Guest Opinion"  articles to the Lake Oswego Review this week.  The focus of these submissions was on issues involving the core principles of the group and the governance process of the council moving forward in 2011.  

The City Council has scheduled a number of key meetings during the "lame duck" session of this council just before the holidays.    These meetings involve key issues to the community and COLA LO encourages everyone to participate.   The timing of the meetings is poor and many believe they are designed to limit input from the community.

Several other citizens submitted articles asking for more transparency and fiscal responsibility with the new council in 2011 which is consistent with the election results and citizen concerns.

All articles can be found at: http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/opinion/index.php

Dave Berg wrote an article on key issues facing the council in 2011 and perhaps changing the process-focus of  efforts to ensure a cooperative council.

Gary Gipson wrote an article on Donna Jordan's testimony supporting increased LO resident taxes for a bridge that is not located in Lake Oswego or Clackamas county.

Dave Luck wrote an article asking citizens to participate in the sensitive lands hearing next week to support the property rights of individual citizens.

The new council meets for the first time on 1/4/11 with endorsed members Mike Kehoe and Jeff Gudman being sworn in as new councilors. 

Please inform all members and contacts.

Oregonian editorial published AGAINST the PDX-LO streetcar

To all COLA LO members,

This weekend the Oregonian published an editorial against the streetcar project from Portland to Lake Oswego. Effectively the editorial states that the project is not fiscally responsible given the facts.

Keep this in mind when evaluating candidate and council positions on the streetcar project. Most of the current council appears to support the project with estimated costs to the city escalating. The editorial is located at:

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/12/a_train_with_a_big_hill_to_cli.html

Please notify all members and contacts. 

Donna Jordan comments on supporting increased taxes

Donna Jordan issued the following response to an article in the Clackamas Review this week about whether county residents should pay for a bridge in another county. Her response to the article at this link is below:

http://www.clackamasreview.com/news/story.php?story_id=129115969234641400

Re: Should you pay for this bridge?

Yes, I was at the hearing and testified in favor of the $5 per vehicle, per year, fee after canvassing the other six members of Lake Oswego's City Council regarding their position on this new fee. All seven of us supported this modest investment to replace a bridge that rates a "2" on the 100 point safety scale. Most folks in Troutdale don't use this bridge, but they now pay $19 per vehicle per year in support of replacing the bridge. I believe that the safety of our citizens is worth investing in since 70% of the traffic over the bridge comes from Clackamas County.

"Donna Jordan"

(email verified)